Andrew Ference returns to Boston for the first time with the Oilers on Saturday.

Feb. 1, 2014
12:10 p.m.

BOSTON — Andrew Ference is the fourth member of the 2011 Stanley Cup champions to play in Boston this season on a different roster.

Michael Ryder came to TD Garden in October with the Devils, Tyler Seguin and Rich Peverley a few weeks later with the Stars. Earlier this week, Tim Thomas played his first game as a visitor when the Panthers visited Causeway Street.

None left Boston under the best terms.

Andrew Ference's exit was different, a parting of ways when Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli committed to his young defensemen last summer. It was understandable and done respectfully. Ference had a couple weeks after the Bruins lost in the Stanley Cup Final before he went back home to Edmonton, and used the time to say goodbye to all the friends he made in his seven years with the Bruins.

"I was fortunate to leave under those kind of circumstances," Ference said Saturday morning in the halls of TD Garden, where he returns with the Oilers for a matinee. "I've seen a lot of guys over the course of their careers that get traded at the drop of a hat and they pack up and are gone the next day. They don't get really a chance to have a long, drawn-out goodbye like I did.

"When I was told I wasn't going to come back here, it was under the best terms with Peter and the team. They were happy with what I did and I was happy with what they did, which is great. Then I had a bunch of time to see some friends and spend some time with people here. That's special. It's been about as fairy tale as it gets in the sports world as far as leaving a city and going to a city and knowing you can come back to open arms."

Fortuitously, the Oilers flew into Boston on Thursday. Ference attended the Canadiens-Bruins game that night and spent Friday meeting up with some old friends.

The expectation is that Ference will get a strong ovation from the crowd — although the defenseman joked he brought his family just to make sure he'll get some cheers — that's oversized for his statistical contributions to the Spoked-B. He had 16 regular-season goals with Boston in 373 games.

Yet he's remembered for his leadership and toughness on and off the ice, for resurrecting a Bruins franchise that was down in the dumps and became a Cup winner, for championing environmental causes. And oh yes, for giving the finger to the Montreal crowd after a big playoff goal in 2011.

"When we started, people weren't wearing Bruins stuff and the team was struggling a bit," Ference said. "We got it back to where it's back where it should be — people love the team and love the sport. There's that sense of pride that a group of us got to experience that team growth. I think there's a lot of guys in that group too that reached out to the community and made it more than just a place to play. You saw when guys moved downtown, and I'm sure people see a Bruin every day if you're walking around downtown or the North End or something like that.

"It's neat that a whole bunch of us embraced the city. I think that helped bringing the popularity of the team back to where it should be."

Now he's got a similar challenge with the Oilers as when he joined the Bruins. Edmonton hasn't made the playoffs since reaching the Final in 2006 and are 29th in the NHL standings. Team president Kevin Lowe offered to step down last month to relieve pressure on the beleaguered franchise.

Ference, the Edmonton captain, is using some lessons from his Boston days to build up a winner in his hometown.

"There's a lot of similarities [from the early days in Boston] to the situation now," Ference said. "Obviously in Canada, hockey is number one, but people are a little more antsy to get some success up there as well. I've seen it before, but you also from a pure hockey perspective know how long it takes to build that. It doesn't just happen. Kind of taking some of the ideas and the blueprint from what I experienced here, and you can't just carbon copy it onto a different team, it doesn't really work like that, but there are certain parts that have helped a lot. You hope that that process takes hold in the course of 2-3 years and you can say you helped build that up."